RLD BJP alliance will counter SP-BSP politics in UP: Rajnath Singh

By Naveen Kapoor New Delhi, Mar.2 (ANI): With the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Lok Dal arriving at a seat sharing arrangement in Western Uttar Pradesh, BJP President Rajnath Singh believes the alliance will act as a counterweight to the politics of the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. Neither the BJP nor the RLD have disclosed the seat sharing formula. They claim it is being worked out and will only be announced after taking stock of social combinations and opponents. ” The saffron party is willing to have understanding on seven to eight seats, keeping in view the cast combinations i.e. the Thakurs, Kurmis , Brahmins and OBCs,” said sources in the BJP. The BJP had initially offered six seats - in the Jat-dominated western UP - to the RLD. These included Baghpat, which is Ajit Singh’’s stronghold, Muzaffarnagar, Mathura, Amroha, Nagina and Hathras. Spin doctors and strategists in the BJP believe the alliance will snatch some of the votes going to the Congress-Samajwadi Party combine, at least in the urban pockets. They also see themselves splitting the Muslim vote in the state. They believe that if the party has to revive its fortunes in the state, it has to do so in Western Uttar Pradesh. The BJP also admits that a Congress-Samajwadi Party electoral alliance will have no impact in Western Uttar Pradesh, but could have a bearing on the overall results. The RLD won three seats in the 2004 general elections against the ten won by the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. The inclusion of Ajit Singh in the NDA comes just a day after the Trinamool Congress left the combine. (ANI)